Superintendent News
Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95
A Message from Dr. Kelley Gallt
I hope you have had a restful few weeks since the end of the school year. I am reaching out in my first monthly newsletter with preliminary information about our planning for next year and to let you know when we will be communicating more information. Just this afternoon we received guidance for schools from the Governor, the Illlinois State Board of Education, and the Illinois Department of Public Health. Please know that we have been hard at work crafting plans to be prepared for various scenarios, and we are continuing our work.
It is our greatest hope that we will enter and remain in Phase 4 so that we can be back in school, face-to-face (with restrictions), in the fall. However, we are also enhancing our eLearning plans - whether we might need them for snow days or whether we are directed to stay at home as we were last spring - incorporating some of the excellent feedback you provided in our survey at the end of the year. We are also planning for a "hybrid" solution, which would be a mix of face-to-face learning and eLearning.
Please see the articles below for more information about upcoming presentations on these three learning models to our Board of Education and to our District 95 community.
Planning for Three Learning Models for 2020-21
In the coming weeks I will be presenting plans for each of these learning models to the Board of Education as well as hosting Town Hall presentations for our District 95 families.
Board of Education Presentations
These meetings will allow for a limited in-person audience (abiding by all State requirements in place at the time), but will also be available through Livestream on our website.
eLearning (Remote Learning Model) - June 25, 2020 at 6:15 p.m.
Face-to-Face (Full Capacity Model) - To be determined
Hybrid (Combination Model) - July 21, 2020 at 6:15 p.m.
Town Hall Presentations for District 95 Families
These meetings will allow for a limited in-person audience (abiding by all State requirements in place at the time), but will also be available through Livestream on our website.
eLearning (Remote Learning Model) - July 6, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.
Face-to-Face (Full Capacity Model) - July 13, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.
Hybrid (Combination Model) - July 27, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.
I hope you are able to attend any or all of these sessions to learn more about our plans. Livestream recordings will also be available after each event on our website in case you are not able to attend the live presentation.
Preparing for Face-to-Face Learning: Restrictions Likely
Governor Pritzker and the Illinois State Board of Education just released information about Phase 4 guidelines for schools, and we are in the process of ensuring our plans align to State requirements. If our region remains in Phase 4 for the start of the school year, schools may open for face-to-face learning but with restrictions.
Here are a few of the State requirements for schools in Phase 4:
- Face coverings will be required for all students and staff unless medically contraindicated.
- No more than 50 people may gather in one space.
- Require social distancing be observed as much as possible.
- Temperature and symptom-checks are required, either conducted by schools or self-certifying that individuals are free of symptoms before being allowed in school buildings.
- Increased schoolwide cleaning and disinfection.
As a result of these requirements, other aspects of returning to school will change. Here are a few changes that you can anticipate.
- Changes in bus service due to Phase 4 maximum rider limits of 50 individuals on a bus. This will include bus service to-and-from one location only (for example to-and-from your home address or to-and-from your neighborhood daycare center), and no pay-to-ride service.
- Access to drinking fountains may be restricted; students are encouraged to bring their own water bottles.
- Physical Education classes will not require a change of clothing.
- Depending on how the State requirements for Phase 4 can best be implemented, our plans may include Face-to-Face instruction or Hybrid (combination of Face-to-Face and eLearning) instruction.
We understand that you will have many questions about the return of school. We are developing very comprehensive plans to ensure that we are being mindful of all considerations while also meeting these new State requirements. I look forward to providing more information during my presentations to the Board of Education and to the community (see dates in previous article).
Registration for Returning Students
Meal Service to Continue Through the Summer
Meal service for families in need will continue for the remainder of the summer.
MEAL ASSISTANCE FROM DISTRICT 95 - District 95 is providing bagged grab-and-go breakfast and lunches to any family in need of meal assistance during the COVID-19 related school closures.
- PICK-UP LOCATION: Lake Zurich High School – Door #12, on the west side of the building. Please enter via the main high school driveway and follow the signs.
- TIME: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon
- PICK-UP DAYS: Mondays and Wednesdays
- ELIGIBILITY: Children age 18 and under, and Special Education students age 21 and under.
On Mondays the District will provide 2 breakfasts and 2 lunches per child. On Wednesdays the District will provide 3 breakfasts and 3 lunches per child. Families will be met at the curb and should not exit their vehicles.
For questions regarding the meal service program, please call 847-540-4943 or email BusinessOffice@lz95.org .
New School Board Member to be Appointed
A new Board member will be appointed and sworn in at the Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95 Board of Education meeting on Thursday, June 25th, 2020. The Board has selected community member Mr. Peter Etienne to fill the remainder of the term of Mrs. Kathy Brown, who stepped down after 15 years of service due to her relocation outside of the school district’s boundaries. Mr. Etienne will serve the remainder of Mrs. Brown’s term, until May 1, 2021, when the seat comes up for election. The Board selected Mr. Etienne after reviewing applications from over 20 applicants.
“The Board of Education sincerely appreciates the time and effort of the more than 20 individual community members who offered to step into this position,” said Scott McConnell, Board President. “All of the candidates were highly-qualified, and we felt that any of them would have been a valuable addition to the Board. Ultimately, Peter’s professional experience in both the corporate and educational fields as well as his previous service on the Board of Trinity University made him stand out as the candidate who can make the most smooth and seamless transition into the role. We look forward to having Peter on the Board.”
Forward 95 Action Plan 4B22: Optimize facility design, usage, and maintenance to further teaching and learning
Over the past few months our focus, rightly, has been on the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid need to change our methods of teaching and learning to meet the challenges presented by this global health emergency. One small positive during our Stay-at-Home order was that outside construction work was able to continue. This enabled our ongoing construction projects at May Whitney, Seth Paine, and Sarah Adams to continue and in some cases move up just a bit with the buildings being empty earlier than usual.
Click on the button below to visit our website with Referendum Updates including monthly construction updates, time lapse video of the May Whitney construction, and drone footage of the May Whitney and Seth Paine construction.